A Nation Forsakes God

We praise God for the millions, yes, millions of followers of Jesus Christ in this great nation of the United States.

There are millions of people who are authentic followers of Jesus Christ, who seek to follow Christ, who seek to honor the Word of God, and to seek to glorify God in all that they do. And as we know, we have here in the United States a wonderful heritage, a Judeo-Christian foundation. And that foundation, which was laid many years ago and which we celebrate today, that continues to have a tremendous impact on life here in the United States. And we thank God for that. We do celebrate our independence, our freedom, the liberties that we have that we may take for granted, even a wonderful privilege of meeting like this in relative comfort.

We realize our brothers and sisters throughout the world are not always able to meet like this. There are Christians who are persecuted. There are Christians who are imprisoned. There are pastors who are removed from their families as evil forces in other parts of our world seek to destroy the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So we are tremendously blessed, and we do not take that for granted. We give thanks to God for it, but we must recognize that there are seismic shifts in our culture.

The spiritual and moral conditions of a nation are deteriorating. So we have, for example, the percentage of Americans who say they don't have any religious affiliation. Now you say, what's a religious affiliation?

Well, your guess is as good as mine. People who say they're religious. Doesn't mean to say that they believe the Bible, but they are religious in some form. So those who say they don't have any religious affiliation, 20 years ago it was only 8% of Americans said that they had no religious affiliation.

According to Gallup, in March of this year, that percentage has now risen to 21%. That is 1 in 5 Americans say they have absolutely no religious affiliation at all. The decline in the spiritual and moral condition of our society is going down with increasing acceleration. Andres Oppenheimer in the Miami Herald in April 9th of this year, he writes, and he says, I am not a religious person. So here is a non-religious person riding in the Miami Herald. He writes that the danger is, as he recognizes by this poll, that there are less and less Americans say that they have any religion at all. He says the danger is that the religions will be replaced by secular political fanaticism. He quotes, I quote, in a post-truth world.

Isn't it interesting? An unbeliever is talking about a post-truth world. And he's right. Increasingly devoid of values, and in which populist demagogues have turned basic values upside down by normalizing lying and political and racial intolerance, we urgently need a moral compass. Now, I'm not commenting on his political viewpoint, which may come through in that statement, but I was struck by this fact that here is a man who is looking at our country and obviously appreciates the moral foundation of our country, and he's asking this question, and it's a very serious question, isn't it? When you remove that foundation, when you say you have no longer biblical values, what is put in their place? This nation, as we celebrate today, was built by our founding fathers on what they called self-evident truths. They believed in truth.

They believed that certain truths were self-evident. But how do you get this moral compass that Andreas Oppenheimer is talking about? How do you get a moral compass in a society which increasingly says that truth is whatever you want it to be? The question is asked here in the United States.

The question is also asked in Europe. Douglas Murray again, an atheist who has written a book about this, is saying this. You remove the biblical values. You remove, people would say, religion, we may not like that term, but you remove that, what do you put in its place? Easy to say, this is what I don't believe, but what do we believe? When people remove biblical values, what's going to fill the vacuum? Well, we know. We know from Scripture.

When people turn from God, as they did in the book of Judges, what did they do? Everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Truth is whatever you want it to be. And isn't that increasingly where we are in the United States of America? The truth is whatever you feel like, whatever you want, you have your truth, I have mine.

Don't be surprised then. Increasingly in our society, we see lying, deception, selfishness, violence. Think of the violence in our country. Think of the immorality.

All of them are on the increase. Now, today I want to look at an ancient prophecy, the book of Jeremiah. Incidentally, it's the longest book in the Bible.

Fifty-two chapters, the longest that is in terms of Hebrew words. But relax, we are not going to go through all the 52 chapters, although we could benefit from that. But we are, I am going to look at some key points from this prophecy and learn of a people of whom it is said that they forsook God, a people who knew better and deliberately abandoned God. Here is Jeremiah, the prophet raised up by God to give warnings, warning, calling the people back to the Word of God and saying, if you don't listen to what I'm saying, God's judgment is coming.

And indeed it did. If we understand our situation, if we cry out to God, if we change our ways, there is hope. There is a future. That's the message, the glorious message of the Gospel. Now we're looking at a prophecy which was written about 600 years before Christ. That's almost 3,000 years ago.

And you say, John, come on man, get with it. You're dealing with some contemporary problems, why would you turn to this ancient prophecy? Well Paul, the Apostle Paul in the New Testament in Romans chapter 15 says that the old writings that what was written before is written for our instruction. Jeremiah is written for the instruction of people sitting here in Calvary Church on July 4, 2021. It's written for our instruction and says Paul that you might have hope. So here is a message of instruction.

It's a solemn message, it's a serious message, but it's also a message of hope. So turn in your Bible, I hope you brought one, there's one in the pew. Jeremiah is about the middle of your Bible. If you don't know where it is, don't be embarrassed unless you're a pastor or an elder or a deacon.

But if you're not in that category, you can look at the index right at the beginning and get the right page. Jeremiah, and I'm going to read first of all from chapter 1. We're going to see the nation forsakes the Lord.

The nation forsakes the Lord. Now here is the historical setting. Jeremiah 1, verse 1, the words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the Lord came.

Notice that. To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah, the son of Ammon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. He came also in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month. So here, very interesting, we have the historical setting of the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah is raised up by God in his ministry during the reign of Josiah, who is one of Judah's greatest kings. Remember Josiah, as a young man, he turned to the word of God. Jeremiah begins his ministry under the reign of king Josiah, but the nation more and more turns from the word of God. And so, Jeremiah gives the people warning. He calls the people to repentance. He calls them back to the word of God and says that if they don't do this, judgment is coming. God will raise up a pagan nation, the superpower of the day, Babylon. And they're going to come, and as we read, that happened during the reign of Zedekiah and Jerusalem, and the beautiful temple built by Solomon is decimated. In 586 BC, the judgment of God comes on Judah with the Babylonians, who come in, who take the people captive, who take them to Babylon.

Remember Daniel was one of them. Jeremiah is ridiculed. He's persecuted. He's beaten.

He's imprisoned. He, in fact, is exiled, but what he prophesied come true. You reject God, you turn to your own way, God's judgment is coming.

And so, the temple of Jerusalem is totally destroyed by the Babylonians under king Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. Now let's read on in verse 4 where we see that Jeremiah is appointed by God as his spokesman. Jeremiah 1 verse 4, now the word of the Lord came to me saying, before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you, I appointed you a prophet to the nations. Then I said, ah Lord God, behold I do not know how to speak, for I'm only a youth. So the Lord said to me, do not say I'm only a youth. For to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.

Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord. Then the Lord put his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said, behold, I put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. How wonderful, Jeremiah is raised up by God, he's appointed by God to be the voice of God.

When he speaks, God is speaking. And repeatedly in this long book of Jeremiah, repeatedly we hear such phrases as the word of the Lord came to me, thus the Lord said to me, thus saith the Lord. This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord. The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah.

These phrases are throughout Jeremiah, making the point. It's not a man giving his personal opinion, he's declaring the word of God. He's the voice of God to the people of Judah. He's the voice of God to the kings. He's the word of God to the prophets and the priests who are false, who are corrupt, who are telling the people lies. Here is the voice of God.

But they don't listen. Jeremiah says 34 times in his prophecy, you didn't listen. Fifteen times he says in his prophecy, you disobeyed.

What has happened? A nation who has the law of God, a nation who has been so blessed, delivered from Egyptian bondage, now they deliberately forsake the Lord, they abandon the Lord. Some examples, chapter 2 verse 17, Jeremiah 2 verse 17, have you not brought this upon yourself by forsaking the Lord your God when He led you in the way? Listen, young woman, you forsake the Lord, you think you know better?

There are consequences for your action. Verse 19, your evil will chastise you and your apostasy will approve you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God. The fear of me is not in you, declares the Lord God of hosts.

The people had lost the fear of God. And here is the word, if you do it, it's going to be evil. If you're going to do it, it's going to be bitter. There are many, many of us here who could testify that when we have turned from the Word of God, it is bitter.

There's pain. If you live your own way, there are consequences. Verse 27 of chapter 2, who say to a tree, you're my father, how ridiculous. You've got God as your father and you're worshipping a tree and to a stone you gave me birth. This is your mother now, for they have turned their back to me and not their face. Verse 32, can a virgin forget her ornaments or a bride her attire?

Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. Chapter 7, Jeremiah 7, we will continue to see this. Jeremiah 7 verse 23, but this command I gave them, obey my voice and I will be your God and you shall be my people and walk in all the way that I command you that it may be well with you. You want things to go well with you? Obey the Lord, love the Lord, pursue the Lord, but, verse 24, they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts and went backward and not forward.

Very strong, isn't it? Chapter 9, Jeremiah 9, other examples and there's so many. Jeremiah 9 verse 13, and the Lord says, because they have forsaken my law that I set before them and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it, but have stubbornly followed notice it, their own hearts.

That's where we are, isn't it? We have stubbornly followed our own hearts, this is how I feel, this is how I'm going to go, my own heart. And I've gone after the Baals, the false gods, as their fathers taught them. What Jeremiah is saying repeatedly over and over again, these are only a few examples, you've deliberately and repeatedly disobeyed God.

Instead of worshipping God, you worship idols. Instead of being different from the pagan nations, you are to be the light, you become like them. Instead of you bringing the light to them, you have embraced their darkness. Instead of you telling them what is good, you have embraced their evil. Chapter 13 verse 10, this evil people who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them. What a strong indictment from this fearless prophet of God who's ridiculed and persecuted, but it's true to his calling.

We, we, yes, us, we Americans, we have forsaken the Lord and we've disobeyed His Word. Isn't it true today? We call evil good and good evil, Isaiah 5 verse 20 says, woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.

Isn't that true? Something which is good, we call evil. That which is evil, we call good. And what happened at the time of Jeremiah and the people of Judah is happening, I'm saying to you before our very eyes here in these wonderful United States of America. What's the process? What happened with Judah?

What's the process? First, we receive the Word of God. We honor God's Word. With God's help, we seek to obey God's Word. We teach it to our children in our schools.

Here I am, a little boy, 10 years old in Mrs. McDonald's class. I don't know if she was a believer in Jesus Christ, but she would read from the Bible. Yes, in a public school. Every so often, we'd go to the Kirk as a class, the Church of Scotland, and there the Bible is read. There, even among those who are not authentic followers of Jesus Christ, there is a respect for the Word of God. The Word of God is taught. We preach and teach it in our churches. We seek to live by the inspired Word of God.

Isn't this our heritage here in the United States? We believe that biblical truth is indispensable to salvation of our souls, that the Word of God is essential for spiritual renewal and refreshment, that without God's Word, we are nothing. And so first, we receive the Word of God. We seek to practice it. We teach it to our children, in our schools, in our churches, in society. We have a respect for the Word of God.

Step number two, through the subtle attacks of the devil, we then begin to question the Word of God. Right from the Garden of Eden. Come on, Eve, did God really say that? I mean, what a new experience. I mean, is the Bible really true?

I mean, come, get with it. This is 2021, I mean, yeah, there are nice things in the Bible, but you don't believe all of it, do you? Isn't it a mixture of myth and truth? Isn't it rather old-fashioned? Isn't it irrelevant in our contemporary, cool world that you're still believing that old Bible stuff?

You heard these antigens? We can hear them even in the church. Bring a Bible to the church, I mean, come on, we're in this digital age, you don't need your old Bible, do you? See, first, we accept the Word of God. We believe it. Step two, we question it. Step three, we openly and repeatedly disobey the clear teaching of Scripture. We reject it. There is then the third step is a flagrant violation of Holy Scripture.

Have you noticed that? Someone starts questioning the Word of God, very, very soon their lifestyle is opposed to the Word of God. Sometimes they raise these questions, they're not really questioned so much about the accuracy of the Bible.

If you're trying to demonstrate it, they're not really interested, no, they wanted a part of it because they want to live a certain way. Jeremiah 5, verse 30, listen to this, here's the Word of God, an appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land. That was true in Judea, do you think it's true of the United States? An appalling and a horrible thing has happened in the land, the prophets prophesy falsely and the priests rule at their discretion. The prophets and the priests, the religious leaders, they're hand in hand. My people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes? You've gone against the Word of God, you've got these false teachers, false prophets and priests and the sad thing is my people love to hear it. That was very nice, that's, what a beautiful message that guy gets. Isn't his wife really beautiful in that book, I mean, he's just telling us, just pursue your own dreams, a kind of prosperity theology, a kind of entertainment mentality in the church of Jesus Christ and people love to have it so, and so people say to me, well, you know, if Calvary changed some things you might get more people in.

That's true. We could have a dog and pony show and we'd get more people in. We could find out what unbelievers want and give it to them. And that was happening in Judah. First step, we accept the Word of God. Step two, we question it. Step three, we disobey it. Step four, we not only reject the Word of God, we criticize and attack those who believe it. You believe the Bible, you're a bigot. You're on the wrong side of history.

Things are moving on, you're getting left behind, people, yes, your grandfather used to believe that way but history is moving on, culture is changing. So that those now who believe biblical truth are increasingly criticized, are increasingly belittled. This is what happens when a people forsake God. Jeremiah 6 verse 14, they have healed the wound of my people lightly saying peace, peace when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?

Though they were not at all ashamed, they did not know how to blush. See what's happened? We embrace the Word of God. Secondly, we question it. Third, we disobey it. Now we're attacking and belittling those who obey it. And those who disobey the Word of God, Jeremiah is saying they've lost their ability to blush.

There's no shame. They've lost their ability to blush, they openly parade their sin. They call their sin liberty and freedom. Isn't that where we are in our country?

People not only go against Scripture, they celebrate it, they parade it, they attack those who continue to obey Scripture. This is happening all around of us. May I ask you, who would have thought even 30 or 40 years ago, some of you are that old, aren't you? Who would have thought, say in a generation, that in this country, not only would there be perversity of all kinds, but that it would be broadcast into our homes so that immorality and violence are put on our huge televisions in our home where we sit down with our family and watch that. Think of what you can get in your home today. Call of the most obscene immorality and perversity and bring that moral sewer into your family room and you sit down with your family and embrace it.

If our fathers and our grandfathers came back and came into our homes, the home of the average American, wouldn't they be absolutely shocked? And now with the invention of our iPhone, pornography is privately viewed by millions. I was a criminal prosecutor in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. We used to prosecute, we called them the men with the dirty raincoats. They would go to some little peep show and watch some pornographic films. Now that doesn't happen, does it?

You don't need to creep around in a disguise and go to some sleazy part of town to watch that film. You can get it right on your iPhone and it becomes a billion dollar industry. Who would have thought a few years ago? Who would have thought in the United States, a country which had been so blessed by God, that we would systematically kill, yes, kill millions of unborn children and do so in the name of a woman's right to her own body?

Who would have thought that would happen? So that we take the most innocent and the completely defenseless and we talk about our rights and seem to be unconcerned with the right of the most innocent and defenseless human being in the world in their mother's womb. Don't you find it alarming? Don't you find it alarming in a country that speaks so much about rights?

I have my right, this is human rights, you violated my rights and we're so concerned with our rights. Isn't it alarming that with all of the talk of the human rights, the most fundamental right to life is violated? Isn't it shocking that with all of the thought of discrimination, of course we should be against discrimination, but isn't it appalling that we discriminate in such a way against the unborn? You may have heard of a new book entitled, What's an Abortion Anyways?

by Carly Maines. Just think of the title. Its goal is to build a world for kids and adults where quote, abortion is normalized as another outcome of pregnancy, just like miscarriage and birth. So a young woman finds herself pregnant, well, she may have a miscarriage, she may give birth to it, she may have an abortion, it's all the same. Quote, parents, caretakers and providers need and deserve a non-judgmental, gender inclusive and medically accurate resource to use in discussions with children about abortion. According to the writer, children must learn that people of all genders have abortions.

Really? And their goal is to have this book and put it in the libraries here in the United States right next to books about pregnancy. And so, a school teacher, a mother, a father, we can sit down and talk about abortion in the same way as if it were giving birth to a child or having a miscarriage. This is happening in the wonderful United States of America. Who would have thought as well, just a few years ago, that same-sex marriage would become part of the fabric of our society? Who would have thought that, say, 34 years ago?

It's unthinkable. In 2015, John Roberts, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he dissented, give him credit for that, he dissented from the Supreme Court's majority decision declaring a right — see again, we're so concerned about rights — a right to same-sex marriage. Justice Roberts says this, from the dawn of human history until a few years ago, for every people known to have populated this planet, marriage was defined as the union of a man and a woman. If you're among the many Americans of whatever sexual orientation, says Roberts, who favor expanding same-sex marriage, by all means celebrate today's decision, but do not celebrate the Constitution, it has nothing to do with it.

I agree with him. The Constitution has nothing to do with same-sex marriage, but these justices, they find it in our Constitution. More importantly, not only is it not in our Constitution, it is not in Scripture. Same-sex marriage, can I say this, same-sex marriage, same-sex unions are contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture. And as I read the book of Jeremiah, several times, I thought, history's repeating itself. Here is a nation who turned from God, Judah, who know better, who hear the Word of God, who persecuted the preacher, and not only continued to sin, they celebrated, they applauded, so the evil is now called good. And we do so in the name of progress and freedom.

Have you noticed this, that we're progressing as a country, all of our freedoms? Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who seems to be a good, very professional diplomat. I wish him well, but he announced, did you hear it, I think just this week, a rule allowing people to self-select male or female in their passports. You don't need to produce a medical certificate, you can just say, well, you know, I was John Monroe, that's my passport, I had for a while, but put it down as John Monroe.

I self-select whether I am male or female on my passport. When I read that this week, you know, I thought of Paul in Romans 1. As he gives the decline of a nation, and he says this, professing to be wise, they become fools. Isn't it the height of foolishness as well as against the very divine design of God that a nation can individually declare their own truth, and to go so far as to say I can self-select whether I'm male or female, utter nonsense, isn't it?

But as this happens, can I summarize what I'm trying to say here? That which was not so long ago regarded as sinful is not only declared legal, not only is it enshrined in our laws and supported in our courts, not only is it taught in our schools, it is promoted aggressively in our society and applauded. That's what's happened, isn't it?

What values have been turned upside down? Evil is now good, and good is now evil. And Jeremiah says you're doing that, and you've lost your ability to blush.

So that people can go on television or write books and talk about utter perversity, and it is applauded. We have forsaken the Lord and disobeyed His Word. What's the remedy? This is Jeremiah's remedy. Repent of sin and seeking the Lord are essential.

Repent of your sin and seek the Lord. Jeremiah 2, turn there, very, very important verses. You see, when you forsake the Lord, there's always a substitute. Not only does Judah forsake the Lord, they commit idolatry. Jeremiah 2 verse 11, has a nation changed its gods? Even though there are no gods, I mean as America, we're now worshiping a different god.

For my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, oh heavens, at this. Be shocked.

Haven't we lost our ability to be shocked in the name of tolerance? Be appalled, oh heavens, at this. Be shocked. Be utterly desolate, declares the Lord. Can you imagine the angels looking down at the sin of Judah and being utterly shocked? Imagine the angels of God looking down on us in this country and being utterly appalled.

Why? Verse 13, my people have committed two evils. Notice it, it's two evils. Number one, they've forsaken me, the fountain of living waters.

That's the number one evil. Number two, they've shewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. They don't listen to Jeremiah, they embrace the false prophets and the false priests. They're indoctrinated by the culture. paganism has come in and has, in a sense, brainwashed them and now they commit two evils. Not only do they forsake the living waters of the living God, they turn to cheap substitutes. Can you imagine? Here is fresh, pure, living water.

There it is. Here is a cistern, a trough of stale water. It's been a long time, it's dirty, it's smelly, it's polluted.

Animals are drinking out of it. And you have on this hand the living water of the living God, ever fresh, ever pure, 100% pure water for God. You reject that.

Not only do you reject it, you put your face in this dirty water. See when we forsake the Lord, inevitably we substitute something or someone. It's called idolatry.

I've noticed that over the years. Someone doesn't, someone begins to question the Word of God and very soon they've embraced open sin. When a nation forsakes the Lord, the result is a society of sexual excess and impurity with dreadful consequences. Read Romans 1, as Paul does it in the first century.

What's the consequences? Broken homes, pornography, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, loneliness, substance abuse, violence, exploitation, even sexual slavery. All in our society, isn't it? We have forsaken God. But as Paul says, these things were written not only for our instruction, but to give us hope. What's the hope Jeremiah? Jeremiah chapter 29, here it is. Jeremiah 29 verse 10, for thus says the Lord, when 70 years are completed for Babylon.

People of God are 70 years in captivity in Babylon. When these are completed, I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place, back to the land. Verse 11, talk about God's grace, talk about God's mercy, aren't you glad God is patient with us?

I am. Aren't you glad God is merciful and gracious? For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil. To give you a future and a hope are wonderful.

After 70 years of Babylonian captivity, the Lord opened the way so that the people could return to Israel and rebuild the temple. But Jeremiah is making it clear, this promise that you have a future and a hope, remember this, is dependent on people repenting and calling on the Lord, seeking Him with all of their heart. Verse 12, we just often stop at verse 11, don't we? People say, well, I have a, I have a future, I have a hope with the Lord.

That's true, but read on. Verse 12, then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.

I will be found by you declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you declares the Lord and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. What's the principle? The principle is the one that we've been learning in Matthew, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Your life is messed up.

We as a nation are messed up. What's the answer? To understand that our sin is against the holy God. To understand that our sin deserves the judgment of God, but that God in His grace has done a remarkable thing, an awesome thing. He has provided forgiveness, that's what he's saying, I've come to the cross, that's it.

The cross is the place where I do business with God, where I acknowledge my sin and that through the person and work of our magnificent Lord Jesus Christ, there's offered to you and me salvation, but you must come with a broken, humble, and repentant heart. You want God's plan for your life, absolutely. You would not be in a place of worship on a large day if you did not want God's plan for your life.

God who is all wise, God who loves you, God who knows the future, God who knows everything about you. We submit our life to the Lord and say, Lord, guide us, I want your very best in my life. The Lord says, well, you've got to call upon me, you've got to pray, and you've got to seek me with all of your heart.

There is the focus, there is the priority taught by Jesus, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all of these things will be added to you. If you don't know Christ, you've got to repent of your sin and ask Christ to come and to forgive you and to trust the Lord Jesus Christ. True repentance means that we're convicted of our sinful attitudes and actions. True repentance ends our self-deception. True repentance means that there's a personal, yes, personal conviction of sin. It's one thing to look out there and say, oh, there's a lot of sin in our nation.

That is true. I've given some examples, but what God wants from you and me, not so much to point out, but to point in and say, there is sin in my heart. I have offended you, the living God. And in repentance, I turn from my sinful attitudes and actions. I confess that and I ask for God's forgiveness.

This is Jeremiah's message to the people of God, that God has great plans for you. God has a great future for you, but you must obey the word of God. You must repent. You must turn from your sin. You must seek the Lord in prayer.

Call upon the Lord. Sometimes people say, well, isn't repentance kind of harsh, harsh? John, as he writes to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, and most of them know what he calls on the church to do, repent, repent. Well, does Calvary Church have to repent?

What do you think? You use an individual, an individual member of Calvary Church, you need to repent. Your spiritual lethargy, your lackluster love of God, the trivial way in which you handle the word of God, your carelessness, your selfishness, your lust and your greed, and how slow you are to tell others about Jesus Christ. I think there's many things we need to repent of, isn't there?

In your heart and mine, I began by saying that our nation, the United States of America, has largely forgotten God. But it's easy to condemn our society. It's easy to criticize the political situation as we do. Easy to criticize the social structures and the greed of corporate America and the obvious injustices and corruption around us.

That's easy to do. You say, John, what's the answer to elect new politicians, new judges, new governors? That would be wonderful to have men and women who live their life in accordance with the word of God and who legislated and who ruled in the fear of God and praise God for the Christians who are in the fields of law and politics and these other areas. But that's not the main answer, is it? The main answer is a spiritual one, isn't it? That's what Jeremiah is saying. It's for spiritual renewal. It's for spiritual revival. And it's often said that revival is God's finger pointed at you. You say, well, our nation needs revival. It's true.

Absolutely. Pray for it. May it be the case, but it begins with you and me. Yes there's hope for us as a nation, for us as a church, for you as an individual. Whatever you are, you're broken.

Your life is messed up. Thank you so much that God has brought you to Calvary Church this morning. I want to say for you, there is hope, there is forgiveness, there is a new beginning in Jesus Christ. Turn from the dirty, polluted waters and drink of the magnificent, eternal waters of God. Jesus still stands and says, if anyone thirsts, let them come to me and drink. Our nation is thirsty. People are thirsty. People are broken.

And sadly, millions are drinking from the polluted waters. Don't do that. Turn from that and come to the Lord Jesus Christ who says, if anyone comes to me, I will in no wise cast him out. Psalmist says in Psalm 80, restore us, O God, let your face shine that we may be saved. That's a prayer for America.

Restore us. Lord, we want your face to shine on us that we may be saved. That's my prayer for Calvary Church, that God's grace would shine on us, that we would be saved, and that we would continue to be lights in the darkness. This is my prayer for you, that God's grace, God's salvation would come on you, that you would be saved and live a life, light illuminating the darkness, salt permeating the corruption. We're going to sing about God's mercy, but before we do so, will you bow with me?

I think all of us have to repent, don't we? And if you're here without Jesus Christ, I remind you that He came to save you. That God sent His Son not to condemn you, not to judge you, but that through our Lord Jesus you might be saved, so come to Christ. Come to the cross as we were singing about. Turn from your sin and receive Christ. You're here and you're a follower of Christ and you've wandered, there's that, there's that sin in your life.

You've been drinking of the polluted waters, will you confess that sin? Knowing that God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Eternal God and Holy Father, we thank You for this word, it's a tough word as we read the words of Jeremiah and as we think of our own nation, and Father have mercy upon us we do pray. We pray that You'll raise from Calvary children, students, young men, young women, older men and women who stand for righteousness, who with grace communicate Your truth that Calvary will be a light on a hill and that many will come to saving faith in Christ. May Your mercy be on us, we pray in Christ's name, Amen.